2006 Spice Route Mourvèdre (Swartland)
The Swartland wine growing region is near Capetown, and the Spice Route vineyards produce some of the best Mourvèdre in all of South Africa. Known as Monastrell in Spain, Mourvèdre always delivers dark fruit notes and exotic nuances. Charles Back is the winemaker, and you may have seen his other famous project "Goats du Roam." While his humor may appear on the label, he is a very serious winemaker, and one sip of the Spice Route will make that clear. The nose is filled with spiced dark fruits, and hints of vanilla and cedar. Even given this auspicious start, the body is nicely medium-weight and delivers currant, mocha, and pepper, and the finish lingers with warm spice notes. There is a nice acidity overall to this red which defies and sweetness the ripe fruit notes might ordinarily suggest.

Pairing suggestions:  A wonderful late summer wine to pair with the onset of cooler nights. Great with sausage, kebab, or grilled meats.

1996 Chateau Lamothe Guignard Sauternes
There is no other way to put this: prepare yourself for the tasting of a lifetime. Dave saw this aged Sauternes out of the corner of his eye, and he jumped on it quicker than the Karate Kid grabbed a fly with his chopsticks. This flirts with the senses from the enticing color in the glass to the opening notes of orange marmalade and spices. Upon first opening, the flavors are beautiful but somewhat muted, so let this air for a few minutes; also be sure it is not too cold (serve chilled, but taste as it warms up to find the perfect temperature.) Up front is caramelized orange peel, followed by layers of clover honey, pineapple, light butterscotch and almond. Since Sauternes always have sweetness balanced with acidity, there is a pleasant zing at end, making it an ideal match for cream-based desserts such as fruit or nut tarts, crème brulee, or vanilla ice cream (and the wine will hold up to whipped cream, thank you!) For the record, compared with other Sauternes, this is medium bodied and medium sweet; so just imagine why other vintages might fetch out-of-this-world prices. However, Dave and I tend to like the more expressive, subtle wines, and this one jumped out. After being open for a while, this Lamothe develops a dashing orange-almond spice cake finish. Sauternes have a way of sounding fantastical when described in tasting notes, but everything about the descriptions holds true. Dave grabbed all that was left, and you'll be glad he did. There's no more available - sorry - but as mentioned above, this is the tasting chance of a lifetime. The wine is holding beautifully and likely could age even a bit further, but certainly is superb now. A key note here: This wine was taste-tested over five nights, and held up without flaws; so please do not feel the need to consume a 750ml bottle in one sitting (though you may need to keep tabs on your loved ones after this is open.) Be sure to close each night with some sort of air preservation (suction or the like) for maximum longevity, but again, even as it remains open, the flavors will deepen and sharpen.

Pairing suggestions:  As mentioned above, this goes well with all kinds of fruit desserts, and can stand up to cream-based sweets as well. Sauternes is also the textbook match for blue-veined cheeses, believe it or not!